Walking a tight rope
Tying the Ukunilla (wooden tool holder carrying the sharp knife, wooden hammer and fibre pot) tight around his waist, S.P. Sirisena walks around the coconut cultivation looking for the ‘hera gaha’ – the ascending tree. This identified, he climbs up 16 quick steps on the coconut husk ladder attached right round the tree and is up there, all set for his daily routine.
Like Sirisena, in this village of Payagala, Kalutara, there are many whose survival totally depends on this precarious task of coconut toddy tapping. The onlooker may find it somewhat fascinating, particularly the trek along the athura- the fragile ropes connecting the trees, but for the tapper, his undertaking to put himself through this life and death situation, by walking in-between these dangerous ropes on a daily basis, is an agonising mission indeed.
Life and death: S.P. Sirisena’s survival totally depends on the precarious task of coconut toddy tapping. Pix by Susantha Liyanawatte
Despite the risk involved, this is a job that Sirisena has engaged in for over four decades since he made up his mind to follow his father’s footsteps at the age of 15.
“As a child, I used to watch my father tap the trees and thought to myself how daring he was. As I grew up I wanted to take over his job to free him of his responsibilities. It took a lot of courage and patience to develop this skill,” Sirisena says.
Painting a colourful picture of toddy tapping, Sirisena talks about the tools of his trade; the sharp knife, he says, is to cut the coconut palm flower while the wooden hammer (mal thalanaya) is used to pound the flower to extract sap from the tree. This done, the labu katey made up of fibre is tied to the tree to collect the nectar that emanates from the flower.
His daily routine starts at 6 a.m. and goes on till about 8 a.m. tapping about 100 trees.
“In the mornings, we pound the flowers while gathering nectar collected to the pots placed on the tree on the previous day. It is necessary to pound each flower six days before a pot is placed. We do a second round in the evening to tie the pots to collect nectar on the following morning,” he explains. As one flower has the potential to produce sap for about two months only, it is the task of the tapper to identify and prepare another flower which has the potential to be tapped, Sirisena says adding that their years of experience help them identify the coconut flower that best suits this purpose.
Climbing so many trees twice a day is a tiring job, for which he is paid only Rs. 8000 a month,; it’s all he has to feed his wife and four children, Sirisena laments. “There is a huge risk in this job. We start our day not knowing if we will survive the day. We set off from home not knowing if we would see the faces of our loved ones again. On top of that, we have to fight weather conditions such as rain and wind, which makes our task very complicated. All for a meagre salary as this,” Sirisena says.
Tools of the trade: A sharp knife, cuts the coconut palm flower while a wooden hammer (mal thalanaya) is used to pound the flower to extract sap and the labu katey, made of fibre, is tied to the tree to collect the nectar
Joining in the conversation was Senanayake Premadasa, a 72-year-old who had engaged in toddy tapping for 46 years until he was compelled to give up his job when met with an accident in 2009.
“This is a very painful job,” he tells us.
“Back in 1968, I joined the Toddy Tappers’ Association to undergo three months training in tapping. Ever since, I had been doing this to earn a living until I had a fall from the rope and broke my arm, leg and the spine,” Premadasa recalls that horrifying moment.
He usually checked both ath koley and paya koley (the rope he holds on to and the one that he walks on) but luck was not in favour of Premadasa that fateful day when the ath koley broke due to the strong wind.
“I had been unconscious and receiving treatment in Colombo for three months. But due to my disability I could never go back to the profession,” he says.
While the grievances of tappers are such, there are those like Samarasinghelage Edmond who are in the trade but who do not engage in a life-threatening job like Sirisena or Premadasa. Nevertheless, Edmond too plays an important part in the toddy collection task, receiving the toddy pot that is being sent down from the tree by the tapper and filling the plastic barrel to be sent to the collection point.
Edmond’s complaint is that he had been out of work for a month as his fellow tapper who has the registered licence, had fallen sick and he is compelled to wait until he finds someone who requires his service and apply for a fresh licence.
The toddy tapping community of Payagala is made up of 40 -50 individuals but they are a forgotten lot, drowning in their woes, they claim.
“The young generation today is not keen on doing this job. To be honest, I will not encourage my children to take this up as I am aware of the risk involved. There has to be insurance or pensions for people like us because after retirement or in the event of an injury, we have no means to survive, Premadasa adds.
| Tapping for treacle and coconut sugar soon? The Sunday Times contacted the Coconut Development Authority (CDA) under whose purview the toddy tapping industry comes. The CDA Chairman Aruna Gunawardena said that until recently CDA’s policy was not to promote coconut toddy tapping as it has an impact on a large number of other coconut based industries, such as manufacturing of coir products, using coconut shell for coal or to manufacture other shell products, etc. “But, that does not mean we discourage the industry. Those who engage in the industry have been given the opportunity to continue their trade obtaining a licence. However, instead of tapping for toddy, if the coconut flower is tapped to produce treacle and coconut sugar it is far more feasible as these two products have a huge export market in countries like Canada, America, etc. This is a developing trend now. So we have plans to encourage this area,” he says. Accordingly, CDA is to introduce a programme in 2015, to tap the trees that were affected by the mite disease for the purpose of manufacturing treacle and sugar. As for the welfare of the toddy tappers, the Chairman said, although ‘toddy tapping’ is not promoted, the problems of the tappers will not be ignored. There is an insurance scheme that has been introduced, covering all those involved in the coconut related industries, including the toddy tappers. The insurance scheme has been implemented by the Ministry of Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development Board in collaboration with Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation. Introducing a novel innovation to safely climb the coconut tree is also on the cards, the Chairman said. |